COWT; Promare; In a blue flame
Feb. 12th, 2020 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ephitomisTitle: In a blue flame
Fandom: Promare
Notes: Written for the prompt "Fandom!AU" for COWT10.
Wordcount: 5806
Summary: The world is losing the war against the Kaijuus, always more Kaijuus appear, but there aren't enough pilot to fight them. It's then that the Burnish project gets activated, reuniting the most apt pilots to push themselves over the limits and pilot a Jaeger on their own.
Of course, nothing is ever this easy.
Galo doesn't remember a world without the Kaijus. Not everyone is like him, of course, and there are a lot of people that remember a world without fear, one where most of the people weren't focused on building giant robots.
One where the population of the world wasn't scattered in domes, and a few standing cities.
They talk about it, sometimes, with wistful eyes and a smile on their lips. Galo... doesn't know how he feels about that world from before.
On one hand he can't even imagine it, on the other he would be glad to see it. It's why they fight, he thinks, why everyone in the dome cares so much. Suffers so much. Gives up so much.
Galo has never minded the fight. Actually, he always wanted to fight more, but he can see how it's weighing on everyone else.
There's a tension in the Dome, some nights, where no one looks up from their plate after another attack. After another loss.
They've been losing a lot lately.
It's not anyone's fault. There are too many Kaijus. Their ranks only increases in numbers, while the number of Jaeger is limited.
They can't build Jaeger as fast as they get damaged, and even if they could, not everyone can pilot them.
Galo would like to, there's nothing he would love more than to pilot a Jaeger himself, but he's not drive compatible with anyone. And his test scores are abmisal.
So he's one of the rescue team. They have their own mini jaegers, with Lucia tweaking them as much as she can, but it's not the same. And while Galo is proud of his work, and what he accomplishes everyday, he can't help but feel like he was destined for something more.
"It's just your big head," the boss tells him, most days. Maybe he's right, but Galo feels it deep in his bones.
There's something more he should be doing.
-
Kaijus are supposed to be driven by two people, everyone knows that, less and the Jaeger would fry a person's brain. More and it could create an imbalance in the control.
And yet Galo has heard of people controlling three Jaegers. And, of course, everyone has heard about the Burnish initiative.
People with a high drift sensitivity, being trained to pilot smaller but just as powerful Jaegers. It's a gamble, everyone knows that, but it's a desperate situation that requires swift and difficult decisions.
Or so, at least, Kray says.
Not many Burnish candidates succeed. Most of them fail after a couple of fights, but it's a couple of fights they wouldn't have had otherwise.
Of course, there's always an exception.
No one has actually talked with Lio Fotia, but everyone knows his name. He's the only Burnish pilot to actually accomplish the task. He's been fighting alone in his Mad Burnish for years, and it doesn't look like he's stopping any time soon.
Every time a Kaijuu is spotted, Mad Burnish is the first on the scene.
Galo has never seen Lio in person, only his Jaeger. Since Galo and his team are usually the first rescuers on sight when the battle is too close to a city, he has seen Mad Burnish up close countless times.
The Jaeger is leaner than those controlled by two pilots, but it moves quicker than them. There's a fire, Galo thinks, in the way Lio fights.
It might be a stupid thing to think, of course, because he doesn't know Lio. But.
"Just because you're obsessed with him," Aina tells him, with a smirk, "doesn't mean you know anything."
"I'm not obsessed with him," Galo screams, devouring the last slice of pizza. He's really not. Just because he watches Mad Burnish fight more than other Jaegers, or because he asks Kray about news more often than not... it doesn't mean he's obsessed.
He just can't help but feel a kinship with the way Lio fights. Also... he feels he can see the sadness, sometimes, in the way the other moves.
Galo isn't obsessed. He's just worried.
-
The Dome really isn't very big, and everyone that works in rescue usually sees each other at least twice a day. Galo sees technicians at least once a week, and those who work at the command center more sporadically, but still enough to know all of them by name.
Pilots, however, are different.
Kaijuu pilots can be seen training with the others, in the gym, but always a little far away from them. No one has ever seen a Burnish, there.
They say it's because Burnish doen't really talk with people. They say that spending time in the Jaeger alone has made them all crazy and they have to be contained when they aren't fighting.
Galo doesn't really believe any of the rumors, but he can't help but think that maybe the reason why they never show their face is because of the way they get treated.
They should be considered heroes, but most people have started being afraid of them. Voices in the dark whisper of how dangerous Burnish can be, with their deep connection with the rabbit.
As much as the saying goes "Don't follow the rabbit", some people have started changing to "Don't follow the flame, or the Burnish will get you."
It's unfair. And most of the time Galo trains alone at night, in order to escape the incessant whispers. Also because Boss prohibited him from replying.
The first times Galo would start a fight with all of them, screaming about how they should treat the Burnish with more respect and it usually ended with one or more people in the infirmary and Galo being reprimanded.
After the tenth fight started this way, Boss has asked him to spend ten minutes alone in the gym everytime he wants to hit someone over their stupid opinion on Burnish.
And so Galo trains alone at night, usually. There's almost never anyone at 3 AM in the gym. Sometimes he meets a couple of pilots, trying to re-establish their drift compatibility, but no one else.
Tonight he enters, and there's someone on the mat. Someone Galo has never seen in person, but has caught a glimpse of a lot.
Lio Fotia is twirling his staff around like he usually does his sword. There's precision in his movement, but also a flare for the spectacle. Watching him fight here, just like watching Mad Burnish, is a show as much as a bloodthirsty fight.
Galo should say something, he feels, but he can't move. He never thought he would be so close to Lio Fotia, and he's not sure that a movement won't break the illusion.
Lio doesn't seem to have noticed anyone watching him, and he's continuing with his training. Galo recognizes standard exercises taught to every pilot in the dome, but Lio makes them seem more elegant somehow.
He also imagined Lio to be... well, taller.
Mad Burnish isn't the biggest of the Jaegers, but it's still an imposing sight.
Lio doesn't look much older than 14. Or well, that's unfair. There's a boyish look to him, and his height doesn't help, but his eyes are deep and tired. His face looks troubled, haunted.
If Lio really was a fourteen year old kid, then this would have failed him long ago.
It's then that Lio spins, using the staff to do a jump and then using the thrust to deliver a kick into the air, and notices Galo stuck on the door. The other falters for a second, and lands on the wrong foot. He would have face planted on the map, if not for his fast reflexes.
Galo blinks, surprised and unsure how to act, and decides to advance quickly. "Sorry, I didn't want to startle you... I was just here to train."
Lio looks up at him, and while he doesn't glare, there's hostility in his eyes. "And what? Your training consists of standing still and watching others?"
It's not an entirely unfair comment, it's true, but Galo can already feel frustration mount inside him. "I said sorry! I was just... I didn't want to disturb you." It's partly the truth, anyway.
Lio glares at him for a couple of seconds and then shakes his head, standing up. "I'm leaving anyway."
"No! Wait!" Galo screams before even thinking about it. He's not sure why he's stopping the other, but a part of him urges him to stop the other. "I..." he stops, trying to gather his own thoughts.
Lio looks back at him and arches an eyebrow, stuck in disbelief and curiosity. "Wait?"
"Yes. I... I want to challenge you," he says in the end, feeling extremely ridiculous.
"Challenge me?" Lio asks, skeptical. But well, Galo has never taken a step back in his entire life and he's not going to start now.
"Yeah," he confirms, taking a step forward. "I want to become the best pilot this dome has ever seen, and how can I do that if I can't defeat you? So I want to fight you."
Lio looks at him, and for a second Galo thinks that the other will walk away and leave him, but instead Lio huffs and walks back towards the mat.
"You really think you can defeat me?" he wonders, but there's humor in his tone. "This should be interesting."
Galo steps up to the mat, taking a staff as well. "You have in front of you the best Rescuer that this dome has," he proclaims, pointing the staff in the other's direction, "and soon I'll be-"
Before he can even finish he feels something collide with his stomach and then his feet, sending him to the ground in a swift second.
Lio stands proud over him, an eyebrow arched and a disgusting confident smile on his face. "I see."
Oh, Galo thinks, this is war.
"I wasn't ready," he says, standing back up again, "you're a cheater."
Lio shrugs, twirling his staff. "When you're on the battlefield Kaijuus don't wait for you to strike a pose, or to ramble. You have to be ready."
Galo knows this, of course, and to prove that he runs forward, striking in Lio's direction. The other blocks his staff easily, and then dances away from him. There's really no other way to say it, but Galo knows Lio, he has seen Mad Burnish fight so many times, it's like he can see Lio's next move.
So he parries the other's hit, and then advances. He acts more out of instincts than anything else, and he's surprised when he manages to send Lio's back on the mat.
Still, he smirks, proud. "What did I tell you?" he says, ready to offer a hand to Lio to get up.
Lio considers him a second and then accepts it. Galo isn't really that surprised when Lio uses it to overpower Galo and reverse their positions.
He should have seen it coming, really.
"You really are a cheater!" he screams, trying to kick Lio in the sheens. The other simply jumps away from him, and he looks almost playful.
Galo realizes that the sharplike tension he had seen before seems to have melted from Lio's body. He looks younger like this.
"What? You're giving up?" Lio asks, and Galo immediately stands up, furious.
"Galo Thymos never gives up," he says, before launching himself at Lio again.
They continue to fight for an hour and they're evenly matched. Lio is faster and more experienced, but Galo is stronger and knows Lio.
It's... strange. He feels more of a connection to Lio than anyone else he has ever met.
Only after an hour they are both panting, backs on the mat. "Do you give up?" Galo wonders. He doesn't think he has the strength to get back up, but he will if Lio doesn't give up.
The other simply laughs and it's... a strange sound. It's a fleeting thing, and after a second it stops, and Lio looks startled to have laughed at all.
Galo almost wants to ask, but he doesn't get the chance before Lio sits up.
"I've been here too long," he simply says, standing up. "Should have gone back long ago."
It's a sudden change of heart that leaves Galo suffering from whiplash. "Oh, I..."
Galo looks back towards him, and his eyes are warmer than they were when Galo entered the room. "You still have some road ahead of you, Galo Thymos," Lio tells him, standing up.
Galo knows that, if he lets Lio walk away, they will never meet again. Even tonight feels more like a dream than anything else.
So he stands up, and quickly reaches to grab Lio's wrist. "Wait I..." he stops. He tries to think of something to say, something smart and serious, but Galo has never been good at smart. "I train here every night," he says in the end, "it's usually empty. I... if you want to come I'll be here."
Lio seems surprised but doesn't try to free his own wrist. "Haven't you heard?" he asks, "we Burnish can't spend too much time with normal people. The drift makes us crazy."
Galo immediately frowns. "That's fucking bullshit," he says, without even thinking about it.
He might have put it more kindly, maybe, but he said the truth...
The other huffs a laugh and then frees himself from Galo's grip. "Bullshit indeed. Who knows, Galo Thymos, maybe I'll come some other day."
He walks away, then, without looking in Galo's direction.
Galo is left there, with his still laboured breath and the knowledge of how Lio Fotia's laugh sounds. It's strangely exhilarating.
-
He doesn't tell anyone about Lio. He's not sure why, but there's a part of him that feels like talking about it would ruin it.
Every night he goes back to the gym and waits.
It's a week before Lio comes back.
Galo almost didn't do that evening. A particularly nasty Kaijuu attack happened that afternoon, and Mad Burnish had been hurt. The rumor mill said that Lio was okay, but a hit to a Jaeger was always traumatic for its pilot.
So, Galo almost doesn't go. He doesn't think Lio is in any shape to train, but... but.
He finds himself in the gym before he can even think about it. He's worried about Lio, he realizes, and while he's probably not going to meet him, it makes him feel closer to Lio to be in the gym, waiting like every night.
It's why he's surprised to see Lio sitting on the mat, looking intently at one side of the room. Surprised, but happy.
"Lio!" he says, smiling and walking towards the other.
The other startles and twirls towards him, pointing the staff at him. For a second, Galo realizes, Lio is scared.
He freezes mid step, making sure he doesn't advance too quickly or at all. It takes a moment, but then Lio realizes who he is, and lowers the weapon immediately. "Galo Thymos," he says, almost a whisper.
"Yeah, sorry I didn't mean to startle you..." Galo says, approaching again at a much slower pace.
Lio shakes his head. "No. It's my fault, I was thinking of something."
Galo wants to ask what he was thinking about, but Lio's reaction makes it obvious enough. His team was busy rescuing civilians during todays' battle, so Galo doesn't know everything that happened, but he can imagine.
He knows that Mad Burnish wasn't the only Jaeger in the fight. He also knows that Mad Burnish came out of the fight better than the other one.
The other Burnish won't fight again.
It's happening more and more, lately. They're burning through the Burnish pilots faster and faster. It must be hard for Lio, to see the people he trained with abandon him.
"I want to fight Kaijuus," Galo says, because he can't stand the silence any longer, "because I think we have to do something, but that doesn't mean I don't know how dangerous it is. I'm... sorry for your friend. But at least he's safer now, yes? And you won't have to fight alone much longer! Just you wait until I find someone drift compatible. We'll be there guarding your back!"
Lio doesn't answer for a second, before he closes his eyes. "I envy you," he murmurs, low and tired, "you're so simple."
Galo knows that most people say simple as an insult, but... but he can't help but feel that it shouldn't be. "I just don't feel like worrying over things I have no control over will help. I know the world isn't perfect, but I think we're doing our best to make it a better place."
Lio turns towards him, and his eyes shine with something that Galo can't understand. "And if we weren't?" he asks, his voice low and icy. "What then, Galo? What if everything we've ever built is just another hell?"
He doesn't really understand what the other means. Of course the Jaegers aren't the best solutions, and the Burnish project has more risks than rewards, but... the world is safe because of them, doesn't that mean something?
"I don't believe that," he says. Doesn't understand how Lio could ever suggest that.
The other huffs, amused, and turns back towards the wall. He seems uninterested in continuing the conversation, but the more the silence lies between them, the more Galo can see the fire boil inside him.
He needs to defend everything they've built, everything Kray has allowed them to do. It's important to him, and it should be important to Lio too.
Galo really thought he knew Lio, but now...
"Why are you here, then? If you think it's all so useless?" he can't help but ask, anger tainting all his words.
Lio doesn't even turn towards him. "You don't know anything, Galo Thymos. All of you live here, but you've no idea what goes behind the surface. And I... we're tired."
"We?" he asks, trying to understand what Lio is trying to tell him. Honestly it sounds entirely too confusing for him.
Lio looks at him again, but doesn't elaborate. "Do you want to challenge me tonight, Galo?"
Honestly, Galo isn't sure if Lio should be moving right now, not after today's battle, but there's something desperate in the other's request.
So Galo jumps up and smiles. "So you're ready to let me wipe the floor with you? If I win you have to admit that what we're doing is important!"
Lio huffs and stands up. "Sure, but you'll never win."
"We'll see!"
Galo doesn't win, but neither does Lio. It's a win in his book.
-
Ever since that night, Lio appears more frequently to train with Galo. It usually starts with them talking for a couple of minutes, and then they start sparring.
It's... satisfying.
They've started to work with each other, know their own styles almost to a fault. Galo can predict all of Lio's moves, and so does Lio. Sometimes he thinks he could even fight with his eyes closed, and still feel Lio as if he was seeing him.
But as much as Galo has learnt about Lio's fighting style, he's still ambling in the dark when it comes to Lio's mind and heart.
There are some nights, usually after Kaijuu's fight, where Lio is quieter. Smaller. He doesn't gloat as much, even his fighting style becomes more controlled, precise. He loses most of the flare that makes fighting with Lio so fun.
Galo has no idea what the other feels those nights. He tried asking once, but Lio walked away sooner than usual, and Galo doesn't want that.
So he keeps his questions to himself and tries to pierce something together from the scraps Lio gives him.
It's not easy, and Galo has no idea if Lio is upset because he's the last Burnish left, or because they keep losing grounds to the Kaijuus. It could be either, really.
Honestly, in hindsight... no, Galo is glad he discovered what was always haunting Lio so much.
He just hoped he could have discovered it before it was too late.
-
One night they've been training for almost an hour when someone enters the gym. Both Galo and Lio startle, and look back towards the doors at the same time.
Galo has never seen the two men that look at them from the entrance of the gym, but it's obvious Lio has.
"Wha-?" he starts to ask, before one of the two interrupts him.
"Boss! They... they came to take Aisha away and we...'' he says, frantic. Galo doesn't know what he means, but it's obvious Lio does, because he sprints in their direction immediately. He doesn't stop to talk to them, and simply continues running.
Galo immediately throws his staff on the ground and makes to follow, only to be stopped by the two men.
"This doesn't concern you," the one to the right says, "leave the boss alone."
Galo doesn't really understand, but if Lio needs his help, he's going to do something about it. "I don't know what you mean, but I'll kick your ass if you don't let me pass."
The other one hesitates a second before putting a hand on his companion's shoulder. "We shouldn't leave the boss alone," he says. He looks at Galo again and his face closes off. "Let him come, maybe he'll finally learn something."
Guy to the right snarls for a second before nodding and following Lio down the corridor. Galo doesn't really understand, but he immediately follows them, running as quickly as he can.
He's not surprised to see where they're going, but he's glad he can follow the two men. He's never been inside the Burnish enclosure of the Dome, and he's not sure he'd be able to navigate it without losing himself.
They hear Lio's voice after a while, and it looks like he's screaming. Galo accelerates immediately, surpassing the two guys and entering the room at the end of the corridor.
Lio is screaming at two soldiers, who are blocking a door.
"Let me see her! You had no right. She hasn't recovered yet!" Lio is saying, trying to pass the two guards, but they don't leave him any breathing room.
"Aisha's condition has worsened, so we've sent her to the infirmary. We'll let you know her condition soon," one of the guards says, but one Lio's friends immediately scoffs.
"That's bullshit. She was handling it better than most," he says, "the veins had stopped."
Veins? What are they talking about?
"If her condition worsened," Lio says, "then I just want to be with her. She needs someone to stay beside her."
"She has all the best medical personnel with her," the guard says, "now go before we're forced to escort you back to your rooms."
Galo doesn't know what it's happening, but there's something that irks him. He knows that not everyone idolizes Lio like Galo does, but they're talking to him like he's their inferior. Lio is a fucking hero, they should treat him with some respect.
"Hey," he says, stepping up, "why can't you just let him see their friend?" he wonders. Immediately the guards and Lio turn in his direction.
Lio looks surprised and then panicked. He immediately curses and then turns back towards them. "Fine," he says, taking Galo's arm and starting to drag him away.
"What are you going?" Galo can't help but ask. Didn't Lio want to see this Aisha person?
"Just keep walking, Galo. Don't be an idiot for once in your life," Lio murmurs but there's a tightness to his voice that actually makes Galo comply.
He looks tired, and there's a bruise on his temple from yesterday's fight, but, Galo realizes, this is the worst he has ever seen Lio. it's not even the bruise or the bags under his eyes, it's his gaze, haunted and destroyed.
Lio is always a little angry. Even when he laughs, his voice badly hides the fire inside him. Now, however, Lio just looks sad.
"What's happening?" Galo asks, when they're far away from the guards, and Lio stop in his tracks.
"Boss..." one of the two men whispers, but Lio doesn't react.
"Do you want to know what happens to Burnish when they go too deep?" Lio asks out loud. It's obvious he's talking to Galo, but there's some kind of hidden meaning in his question.
Galo doesn't know why Lio decided to start talking in riddles now, when he knows that Galo doesn't really understand subtext.
But, it seems Lio doesn't really need Galo to answer his question. He removes his right glove, the one he never removes, and Galo immediately focuses on his hand.
It's covered in purple and blue veins. They're shining, he realizes, and a second later Galo recognizes why it seemed to be familiar.
Lio's hand is glowing of the same blue that powers up the Jaegers. It's the same inside the cockpit of a Jaeger, and the same you see when you follow the rabbit.
He doesn't understand why it looks to be flowing inside Lio's veins.
"This is what happens when someone drifts alone too many times," Lio continues, and some of the anger is starting to creep back slowly into his voice. "At one point, if you don't control it, it consumes you. You become able to drift even outside of your Jaeger. You lose yourself."
It's terrible, it really is, but... but everyone knew the risks that came with being a Jaeger pilot, and especially a Burnish. Right?
It's like Lio can read his thoughts on his face because he laughs. "You still think this is just? Let me tell you a story. No one, no one, is able to drift alone forever. The Jaegers aren't built for that. But they don't care. They take everyone that has enough control on their drift and they make him a Burnish. Because they need soldiers, but most importantly because they need this" and he raises his hand, showing him his glow in all his glory.
"What do you mean?" Galo finally asks, advancing. "Burnish know the risks. They're brave enough to choose to challenge the risk and..."
"And sacrifice themselves for the rest of humanity. You really don't know anything, Galo Thymos. Why do we have to fight alone?" Lio questions, advancing on Galo, "it would be so much safer to drift in pairs. There are a lot of Burnish that are drift compatible with each other, did you know? But they don't care."
"We need more fighters, we..." Galo tries, but Lio pratically growls at him.
"The only thing that they want is this," he insists, shaking his hand. "Once we can't fight anymore, once we're covered in these veins, they take us, and then we never come back."
"What do you mean?" Galo wonders, surprised. "You... Burnish retire soon, everyone knows that. Because of the severity of the fights, and..."
Lio interrupts him again, shaking his head. "Retiring, sure. They use our blood, what we become. I don't know what they do with this, but I know that once you go in there... you never come back."
Lio stops then, and looks him in the eye. His eyes shining almost as much as the veins in his hand. "Do you still think what we're doing is just? Do you still think it's worth it?"
Galo doesn't know what to answer, and so he stays silent. Lio nods and then storms off, never once looking back in Galo's direction.
It's... well. It's not like he doesn't deserve it.
Lio's friends linger for a couple of seconds before they start walking as well. Galo stops them the moment they get within his reach.
"Is Lio...?" he doesn't know how to finish his phrase. All he can see are the veins covering his wrist, the wrist he has touched countless times in his training. What exactly happens the moment those veins completely engulfs a Burnish? What will happen to Lio?
One of the two, the one that seemed more lenient towards Galo, shakes his head. "Boss is the best of us. He's got complete control over his drift. His veins haven't grown ever since his first drift. But..." he stops, looks at his own foot, "but he can't do it alone."
"Meis!" the other one screams, but Meis just shrugs.
"I don't want to see Boss lose himself, Gueira," Meis says, closing his eyes. "If the Mad Burnish won't consume him, the pressure will. He thinks he's responsible for all of us, and he takes it hard. We tried to help but..."
Meis stops talking, and Gueira hesitates a second before huffing and then hooking a finger into the collar of his sweater. He drags it down, and Galo can see the shine before he can see the veins. "We're not sure how much longer we can hide this from them," he explains, "Burnish who can't pilot don't usually survive long before being escorted there."
Galo doesn't move. Doesn't know what to say.
"You're drift compatible with the Boss, you know," Meirs says, out of the blue, and Galo sputters.
"What? No, I'm not!" he denies, immediately.
Gueira arches an eyebrow in his direction, skeptical. "We've seen the two of you train, and we can assure you. You're drift compatible. So we're telling you that if you fuck Boss over in any way, we'll find you and kick your ass!"
"I'm... I don't..." he tries to say, but Meirs interrupts him.
"And that if you don't help him, you won't be worthy of being drift compatible with him."
They walk away after that, leavnìing Galo in the middle of the corridor, unable to say anything else.
-
Galo thinks about it. He thinks about it as much as he can. During breakfast, at night, while they train.
He can't really wrap his head around everything. It seems too surreal to be real, and he wants to ask the others on his squad, but he doesn't know who he can trust.
Galo doesn't suspect his team, but there's no way to talk privately to someone inside a dome.
So he thinks about it on his own, and thinks about it more. And in the end he just screams in frustration.
Aina looks at him, startled. "Galo? What's gotten into you?" she asks, surprised and a little scared, but Galo can't really tell her. Can he?
"I just don't understand. I'm not good at thinking," he admits, even though it costs him something. Lio needs him to think, to make sense of everything the other told him, and yet he can't.
He really is unworthy, ah?
Aina stays silent for a second before smiling. "Yeah, you're, but that's not always a bad quality. You might not always understand everything perfectly, but you act. And you always follow your heart. And that's the most important thing.
Galo wonders if it could really be this easy but... well, what else can he do?
"You're a genius, Aina," he says, smiling and hugging. He doesn't have to think so hard. That's not how he is.
He follows his heart that burns with the passion of justice, and he doesn't need anything else.
"I need to find Lio," he says, taking his rescue jacket and running out of the room before he can hear Aina's strangled "Lio?"
-
It doesn't take him as much as he feared to find Lio. Which is a blessing because now that he has made up his mind, he can't wait to actually tell him.
Surprisingly enough, he finds Lio in the gym. He's training, just like Galo found him the first night, but his movement seems to be slowed. He doesn't look as elegant as that first night, almost as if there was something weighing him down.
This, Galo thinks, it's exactly the reason why he's here.
"I have decided," Galo announces, "that I don't understand a single thing you said to me the other night.". Lio stops, and turns towards him, surprised.
"Is that a thing someone has to decide?" Lio wonders, curious.
Galo simply shrugs. "I've also decided that I don't care if I don't understand. Because you're obviously hurting and it's one thing to have people decide to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but if they're not choosing it... then it's wrong and we need to stop it."
Lio puts his staff down and studies him for a couple of seconds. He seems confused but also amused. "It's really that easy for you, isn't it? You see something you don't like, so you just change it."
Galo nods, proud of himself. "If we don't do nothing, then nothing will ever change. Also you can say what you like, but I know you're just like me. You're trying to protect everyone, save them. So I've decided I'll help you. I'll be your co-pilot."
Lio, as Galo expected, freezes. "I... I'm a Burnish. I don't have a copilot."
"But we're drift compatible, are we not?" he asks, knowing full well the answer to the question. Meris and Gueira had no reason to lie, but more than that, Galo can feel it in his blood. In his bones. It's why they were always that good at reading each other. Why their sparring matches worked.
Lio doesn't deny it, but he still hesitates. "They won't let you. A Burnish with a copilot will only worsen their reputation and make it harder to use us."
"We won't know until we try," Galo assures Lio, smiling. "And you have on your team the future best Jaeger pilot of this generation. Aren't you excited."
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Lio asks, a little surprised.
Galo shrugs. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"
Lio murmurs something that sounds like Why am I even surprised, and then advances towards Galo.
"You realize this will be difficult. And that if we're discovered this could lead to some terrible circumstances."
Galo shrugs and smiles. "You and are partners, are we not? If you’re doing something dangerous, then so am I. And if we get discovered, then we’ll face those terrible circumstances together.."
Lio laughs then, shaking his head. He gets closer and closer, until they're almost face to face. "You're a really strange guy, you know."
Galo simply shrugs. “I've been told it's one of my best qualities."
Lio doesn't say anything, but the moment Galo feels the kiss on his lips, he thinks he got the answer he wanted.
Galo doesn't know what the plan is, how to stop the organization that, for all its faults, is responsible for keeping the rest of humanity safe. But while he keeps Lio in his arms and keeps kissing him... he thinks they’re going to figure it out.
Fandom: Promare
Notes: Written for the prompt "Fandom!AU" for COWT10.
Wordcount: 5806
Summary: The world is losing the war against the Kaijuus, always more Kaijuus appear, but there aren't enough pilot to fight them. It's then that the Burnish project gets activated, reuniting the most apt pilots to push themselves over the limits and pilot a Jaeger on their own.
Of course, nothing is ever this easy.
Galo doesn't remember a world without the Kaijus. Not everyone is like him, of course, and there are a lot of people that remember a world without fear, one where most of the people weren't focused on building giant robots.
One where the population of the world wasn't scattered in domes, and a few standing cities.
They talk about it, sometimes, with wistful eyes and a smile on their lips. Galo... doesn't know how he feels about that world from before.
On one hand he can't even imagine it, on the other he would be glad to see it. It's why they fight, he thinks, why everyone in the dome cares so much. Suffers so much. Gives up so much.
Galo has never minded the fight. Actually, he always wanted to fight more, but he can see how it's weighing on everyone else.
There's a tension in the Dome, some nights, where no one looks up from their plate after another attack. After another loss.
They've been losing a lot lately.
It's not anyone's fault. There are too many Kaijus. Their ranks only increases in numbers, while the number of Jaeger is limited.
They can't build Jaeger as fast as they get damaged, and even if they could, not everyone can pilot them.
Galo would like to, there's nothing he would love more than to pilot a Jaeger himself, but he's not drive compatible with anyone. And his test scores are abmisal.
So he's one of the rescue team. They have their own mini jaegers, with Lucia tweaking them as much as she can, but it's not the same. And while Galo is proud of his work, and what he accomplishes everyday, he can't help but feel like he was destined for something more.
"It's just your big head," the boss tells him, most days. Maybe he's right, but Galo feels it deep in his bones.
There's something more he should be doing.
-
Kaijus are supposed to be driven by two people, everyone knows that, less and the Jaeger would fry a person's brain. More and it could create an imbalance in the control.
And yet Galo has heard of people controlling three Jaegers. And, of course, everyone has heard about the Burnish initiative.
People with a high drift sensitivity, being trained to pilot smaller but just as powerful Jaegers. It's a gamble, everyone knows that, but it's a desperate situation that requires swift and difficult decisions.
Or so, at least, Kray says.
Not many Burnish candidates succeed. Most of them fail after a couple of fights, but it's a couple of fights they wouldn't have had otherwise.
Of course, there's always an exception.
No one has actually talked with Lio Fotia, but everyone knows his name. He's the only Burnish pilot to actually accomplish the task. He's been fighting alone in his Mad Burnish for years, and it doesn't look like he's stopping any time soon.
Every time a Kaijuu is spotted, Mad Burnish is the first on the scene.
Galo has never seen Lio in person, only his Jaeger. Since Galo and his team are usually the first rescuers on sight when the battle is too close to a city, he has seen Mad Burnish up close countless times.
The Jaeger is leaner than those controlled by two pilots, but it moves quicker than them. There's a fire, Galo thinks, in the way Lio fights.
It might be a stupid thing to think, of course, because he doesn't know Lio. But.
"Just because you're obsessed with him," Aina tells him, with a smirk, "doesn't mean you know anything."
"I'm not obsessed with him," Galo screams, devouring the last slice of pizza. He's really not. Just because he watches Mad Burnish fight more than other Jaegers, or because he asks Kray about news more often than not... it doesn't mean he's obsessed.
He just can't help but feel a kinship with the way Lio fights. Also... he feels he can see the sadness, sometimes, in the way the other moves.
Galo isn't obsessed. He's just worried.
-
The Dome really isn't very big, and everyone that works in rescue usually sees each other at least twice a day. Galo sees technicians at least once a week, and those who work at the command center more sporadically, but still enough to know all of them by name.
Pilots, however, are different.
Kaijuu pilots can be seen training with the others, in the gym, but always a little far away from them. No one has ever seen a Burnish, there.
They say it's because Burnish doen't really talk with people. They say that spending time in the Jaeger alone has made them all crazy and they have to be contained when they aren't fighting.
Galo doesn't really believe any of the rumors, but he can't help but think that maybe the reason why they never show their face is because of the way they get treated.
They should be considered heroes, but most people have started being afraid of them. Voices in the dark whisper of how dangerous Burnish can be, with their deep connection with the rabbit.
As much as the saying goes "Don't follow the rabbit", some people have started changing to "Don't follow the flame, or the Burnish will get you."
It's unfair. And most of the time Galo trains alone at night, in order to escape the incessant whispers. Also because Boss prohibited him from replying.
The first times Galo would start a fight with all of them, screaming about how they should treat the Burnish with more respect and it usually ended with one or more people in the infirmary and Galo being reprimanded.
After the tenth fight started this way, Boss has asked him to spend ten minutes alone in the gym everytime he wants to hit someone over their stupid opinion on Burnish.
And so Galo trains alone at night, usually. There's almost never anyone at 3 AM in the gym. Sometimes he meets a couple of pilots, trying to re-establish their drift compatibility, but no one else.
Tonight he enters, and there's someone on the mat. Someone Galo has never seen in person, but has caught a glimpse of a lot.
Lio Fotia is twirling his staff around like he usually does his sword. There's precision in his movement, but also a flare for the spectacle. Watching him fight here, just like watching Mad Burnish, is a show as much as a bloodthirsty fight.
Galo should say something, he feels, but he can't move. He never thought he would be so close to Lio Fotia, and he's not sure that a movement won't break the illusion.
Lio doesn't seem to have noticed anyone watching him, and he's continuing with his training. Galo recognizes standard exercises taught to every pilot in the dome, but Lio makes them seem more elegant somehow.
He also imagined Lio to be... well, taller.
Mad Burnish isn't the biggest of the Jaegers, but it's still an imposing sight.
Lio doesn't look much older than 14. Or well, that's unfair. There's a boyish look to him, and his height doesn't help, but his eyes are deep and tired. His face looks troubled, haunted.
If Lio really was a fourteen year old kid, then this would have failed him long ago.
It's then that Lio spins, using the staff to do a jump and then using the thrust to deliver a kick into the air, and notices Galo stuck on the door. The other falters for a second, and lands on the wrong foot. He would have face planted on the map, if not for his fast reflexes.
Galo blinks, surprised and unsure how to act, and decides to advance quickly. "Sorry, I didn't want to startle you... I was just here to train."
Lio looks up at him, and while he doesn't glare, there's hostility in his eyes. "And what? Your training consists of standing still and watching others?"
It's not an entirely unfair comment, it's true, but Galo can already feel frustration mount inside him. "I said sorry! I was just... I didn't want to disturb you." It's partly the truth, anyway.
Lio glares at him for a couple of seconds and then shakes his head, standing up. "I'm leaving anyway."
"No! Wait!" Galo screams before even thinking about it. He's not sure why he's stopping the other, but a part of him urges him to stop the other. "I..." he stops, trying to gather his own thoughts.
Lio looks back at him and arches an eyebrow, stuck in disbelief and curiosity. "Wait?"
"Yes. I... I want to challenge you," he says in the end, feeling extremely ridiculous.
"Challenge me?" Lio asks, skeptical. But well, Galo has never taken a step back in his entire life and he's not going to start now.
"Yeah," he confirms, taking a step forward. "I want to become the best pilot this dome has ever seen, and how can I do that if I can't defeat you? So I want to fight you."
Lio looks at him, and for a second Galo thinks that the other will walk away and leave him, but instead Lio huffs and walks back towards the mat.
"You really think you can defeat me?" he wonders, but there's humor in his tone. "This should be interesting."
Galo steps up to the mat, taking a staff as well. "You have in front of you the best Rescuer that this dome has," he proclaims, pointing the staff in the other's direction, "and soon I'll be-"
Before he can even finish he feels something collide with his stomach and then his feet, sending him to the ground in a swift second.
Lio stands proud over him, an eyebrow arched and a disgusting confident smile on his face. "I see."
Oh, Galo thinks, this is war.
"I wasn't ready," he says, standing back up again, "you're a cheater."
Lio shrugs, twirling his staff. "When you're on the battlefield Kaijuus don't wait for you to strike a pose, or to ramble. You have to be ready."
Galo knows this, of course, and to prove that he runs forward, striking in Lio's direction. The other blocks his staff easily, and then dances away from him. There's really no other way to say it, but Galo knows Lio, he has seen Mad Burnish fight so many times, it's like he can see Lio's next move.
So he parries the other's hit, and then advances. He acts more out of instincts than anything else, and he's surprised when he manages to send Lio's back on the mat.
Still, he smirks, proud. "What did I tell you?" he says, ready to offer a hand to Lio to get up.
Lio considers him a second and then accepts it. Galo isn't really that surprised when Lio uses it to overpower Galo and reverse their positions.
He should have seen it coming, really.
"You really are a cheater!" he screams, trying to kick Lio in the sheens. The other simply jumps away from him, and he looks almost playful.
Galo realizes that the sharplike tension he had seen before seems to have melted from Lio's body. He looks younger like this.
"What? You're giving up?" Lio asks, and Galo immediately stands up, furious.
"Galo Thymos never gives up," he says, before launching himself at Lio again.
They continue to fight for an hour and they're evenly matched. Lio is faster and more experienced, but Galo is stronger and knows Lio.
It's... strange. He feels more of a connection to Lio than anyone else he has ever met.
Only after an hour they are both panting, backs on the mat. "Do you give up?" Galo wonders. He doesn't think he has the strength to get back up, but he will if Lio doesn't give up.
The other simply laughs and it's... a strange sound. It's a fleeting thing, and after a second it stops, and Lio looks startled to have laughed at all.
Galo almost wants to ask, but he doesn't get the chance before Lio sits up.
"I've been here too long," he simply says, standing up. "Should have gone back long ago."
It's a sudden change of heart that leaves Galo suffering from whiplash. "Oh, I..."
Galo looks back towards him, and his eyes are warmer than they were when Galo entered the room. "You still have some road ahead of you, Galo Thymos," Lio tells him, standing up.
Galo knows that, if he lets Lio walk away, they will never meet again. Even tonight feels more like a dream than anything else.
So he stands up, and quickly reaches to grab Lio's wrist. "Wait I..." he stops. He tries to think of something to say, something smart and serious, but Galo has never been good at smart. "I train here every night," he says in the end, "it's usually empty. I... if you want to come I'll be here."
Lio seems surprised but doesn't try to free his own wrist. "Haven't you heard?" he asks, "we Burnish can't spend too much time with normal people. The drift makes us crazy."
Galo immediately frowns. "That's fucking bullshit," he says, without even thinking about it.
He might have put it more kindly, maybe, but he said the truth...
The other huffs a laugh and then frees himself from Galo's grip. "Bullshit indeed. Who knows, Galo Thymos, maybe I'll come some other day."
He walks away, then, without looking in Galo's direction.
Galo is left there, with his still laboured breath and the knowledge of how Lio Fotia's laugh sounds. It's strangely exhilarating.
-
He doesn't tell anyone about Lio. He's not sure why, but there's a part of him that feels like talking about it would ruin it.
Every night he goes back to the gym and waits.
It's a week before Lio comes back.
Galo almost didn't do that evening. A particularly nasty Kaijuu attack happened that afternoon, and Mad Burnish had been hurt. The rumor mill said that Lio was okay, but a hit to a Jaeger was always traumatic for its pilot.
So, Galo almost doesn't go. He doesn't think Lio is in any shape to train, but... but.
He finds himself in the gym before he can even think about it. He's worried about Lio, he realizes, and while he's probably not going to meet him, it makes him feel closer to Lio to be in the gym, waiting like every night.
It's why he's surprised to see Lio sitting on the mat, looking intently at one side of the room. Surprised, but happy.
"Lio!" he says, smiling and walking towards the other.
The other startles and twirls towards him, pointing the staff at him. For a second, Galo realizes, Lio is scared.
He freezes mid step, making sure he doesn't advance too quickly or at all. It takes a moment, but then Lio realizes who he is, and lowers the weapon immediately. "Galo Thymos," he says, almost a whisper.
"Yeah, sorry I didn't mean to startle you..." Galo says, approaching again at a much slower pace.
Lio shakes his head. "No. It's my fault, I was thinking of something."
Galo wants to ask what he was thinking about, but Lio's reaction makes it obvious enough. His team was busy rescuing civilians during todays' battle, so Galo doesn't know everything that happened, but he can imagine.
He knows that Mad Burnish wasn't the only Jaeger in the fight. He also knows that Mad Burnish came out of the fight better than the other one.
The other Burnish won't fight again.
It's happening more and more, lately. They're burning through the Burnish pilots faster and faster. It must be hard for Lio, to see the people he trained with abandon him.
"I want to fight Kaijuus," Galo says, because he can't stand the silence any longer, "because I think we have to do something, but that doesn't mean I don't know how dangerous it is. I'm... sorry for your friend. But at least he's safer now, yes? And you won't have to fight alone much longer! Just you wait until I find someone drift compatible. We'll be there guarding your back!"
Lio doesn't answer for a second, before he closes his eyes. "I envy you," he murmurs, low and tired, "you're so simple."
Galo knows that most people say simple as an insult, but... but he can't help but feel that it shouldn't be. "I just don't feel like worrying over things I have no control over will help. I know the world isn't perfect, but I think we're doing our best to make it a better place."
Lio turns towards him, and his eyes shine with something that Galo can't understand. "And if we weren't?" he asks, his voice low and icy. "What then, Galo? What if everything we've ever built is just another hell?"
He doesn't really understand what the other means. Of course the Jaegers aren't the best solutions, and the Burnish project has more risks than rewards, but... the world is safe because of them, doesn't that mean something?
"I don't believe that," he says. Doesn't understand how Lio could ever suggest that.
The other huffs, amused, and turns back towards the wall. He seems uninterested in continuing the conversation, but the more the silence lies between them, the more Galo can see the fire boil inside him.
He needs to defend everything they've built, everything Kray has allowed them to do. It's important to him, and it should be important to Lio too.
Galo really thought he knew Lio, but now...
"Why are you here, then? If you think it's all so useless?" he can't help but ask, anger tainting all his words.
Lio doesn't even turn towards him. "You don't know anything, Galo Thymos. All of you live here, but you've no idea what goes behind the surface. And I... we're tired."
"We?" he asks, trying to understand what Lio is trying to tell him. Honestly it sounds entirely too confusing for him.
Lio looks at him again, but doesn't elaborate. "Do you want to challenge me tonight, Galo?"
Honestly, Galo isn't sure if Lio should be moving right now, not after today's battle, but there's something desperate in the other's request.
So Galo jumps up and smiles. "So you're ready to let me wipe the floor with you? If I win you have to admit that what we're doing is important!"
Lio huffs and stands up. "Sure, but you'll never win."
"We'll see!"
Galo doesn't win, but neither does Lio. It's a win in his book.
-
Ever since that night, Lio appears more frequently to train with Galo. It usually starts with them talking for a couple of minutes, and then they start sparring.
It's... satisfying.
They've started to work with each other, know their own styles almost to a fault. Galo can predict all of Lio's moves, and so does Lio. Sometimes he thinks he could even fight with his eyes closed, and still feel Lio as if he was seeing him.
But as much as Galo has learnt about Lio's fighting style, he's still ambling in the dark when it comes to Lio's mind and heart.
There are some nights, usually after Kaijuu's fight, where Lio is quieter. Smaller. He doesn't gloat as much, even his fighting style becomes more controlled, precise. He loses most of the flare that makes fighting with Lio so fun.
Galo has no idea what the other feels those nights. He tried asking once, but Lio walked away sooner than usual, and Galo doesn't want that.
So he keeps his questions to himself and tries to pierce something together from the scraps Lio gives him.
It's not easy, and Galo has no idea if Lio is upset because he's the last Burnish left, or because they keep losing grounds to the Kaijuus. It could be either, really.
Honestly, in hindsight... no, Galo is glad he discovered what was always haunting Lio so much.
He just hoped he could have discovered it before it was too late.
-
One night they've been training for almost an hour when someone enters the gym. Both Galo and Lio startle, and look back towards the doors at the same time.
Galo has never seen the two men that look at them from the entrance of the gym, but it's obvious Lio has.
"Wha-?" he starts to ask, before one of the two interrupts him.
"Boss! They... they came to take Aisha away and we...'' he says, frantic. Galo doesn't know what he means, but it's obvious Lio does, because he sprints in their direction immediately. He doesn't stop to talk to them, and simply continues running.
Galo immediately throws his staff on the ground and makes to follow, only to be stopped by the two men.
"This doesn't concern you," the one to the right says, "leave the boss alone."
Galo doesn't really understand, but if Lio needs his help, he's going to do something about it. "I don't know what you mean, but I'll kick your ass if you don't let me pass."
The other one hesitates a second before putting a hand on his companion's shoulder. "We shouldn't leave the boss alone," he says. He looks at Galo again and his face closes off. "Let him come, maybe he'll finally learn something."
Guy to the right snarls for a second before nodding and following Lio down the corridor. Galo doesn't really understand, but he immediately follows them, running as quickly as he can.
He's not surprised to see where they're going, but he's glad he can follow the two men. He's never been inside the Burnish enclosure of the Dome, and he's not sure he'd be able to navigate it without losing himself.
They hear Lio's voice after a while, and it looks like he's screaming. Galo accelerates immediately, surpassing the two guys and entering the room at the end of the corridor.
Lio is screaming at two soldiers, who are blocking a door.
"Let me see her! You had no right. She hasn't recovered yet!" Lio is saying, trying to pass the two guards, but they don't leave him any breathing room.
"Aisha's condition has worsened, so we've sent her to the infirmary. We'll let you know her condition soon," one of the guards says, but one Lio's friends immediately scoffs.
"That's bullshit. She was handling it better than most," he says, "the veins had stopped."
Veins? What are they talking about?
"If her condition worsened," Lio says, "then I just want to be with her. She needs someone to stay beside her."
"She has all the best medical personnel with her," the guard says, "now go before we're forced to escort you back to your rooms."
Galo doesn't know what it's happening, but there's something that irks him. He knows that not everyone idolizes Lio like Galo does, but they're talking to him like he's their inferior. Lio is a fucking hero, they should treat him with some respect.
"Hey," he says, stepping up, "why can't you just let him see their friend?" he wonders. Immediately the guards and Lio turn in his direction.
Lio looks surprised and then panicked. He immediately curses and then turns back towards them. "Fine," he says, taking Galo's arm and starting to drag him away.
"What are you going?" Galo can't help but ask. Didn't Lio want to see this Aisha person?
"Just keep walking, Galo. Don't be an idiot for once in your life," Lio murmurs but there's a tightness to his voice that actually makes Galo comply.
He looks tired, and there's a bruise on his temple from yesterday's fight, but, Galo realizes, this is the worst he has ever seen Lio. it's not even the bruise or the bags under his eyes, it's his gaze, haunted and destroyed.
Lio is always a little angry. Even when he laughs, his voice badly hides the fire inside him. Now, however, Lio just looks sad.
"What's happening?" Galo asks, when they're far away from the guards, and Lio stop in his tracks.
"Boss..." one of the two men whispers, but Lio doesn't react.
"Do you want to know what happens to Burnish when they go too deep?" Lio asks out loud. It's obvious he's talking to Galo, but there's some kind of hidden meaning in his question.
Galo doesn't know why Lio decided to start talking in riddles now, when he knows that Galo doesn't really understand subtext.
But, it seems Lio doesn't really need Galo to answer his question. He removes his right glove, the one he never removes, and Galo immediately focuses on his hand.
It's covered in purple and blue veins. They're shining, he realizes, and a second later Galo recognizes why it seemed to be familiar.
Lio's hand is glowing of the same blue that powers up the Jaegers. It's the same inside the cockpit of a Jaeger, and the same you see when you follow the rabbit.
He doesn't understand why it looks to be flowing inside Lio's veins.
"This is what happens when someone drifts alone too many times," Lio continues, and some of the anger is starting to creep back slowly into his voice. "At one point, if you don't control it, it consumes you. You become able to drift even outside of your Jaeger. You lose yourself."
It's terrible, it really is, but... but everyone knew the risks that came with being a Jaeger pilot, and especially a Burnish. Right?
It's like Lio can read his thoughts on his face because he laughs. "You still think this is just? Let me tell you a story. No one, no one, is able to drift alone forever. The Jaegers aren't built for that. But they don't care. They take everyone that has enough control on their drift and they make him a Burnish. Because they need soldiers, but most importantly because they need this" and he raises his hand, showing him his glow in all his glory.
"What do you mean?" Galo finally asks, advancing. "Burnish know the risks. They're brave enough to choose to challenge the risk and..."
"And sacrifice themselves for the rest of humanity. You really don't know anything, Galo Thymos. Why do we have to fight alone?" Lio questions, advancing on Galo, "it would be so much safer to drift in pairs. There are a lot of Burnish that are drift compatible with each other, did you know? But they don't care."
"We need more fighters, we..." Galo tries, but Lio pratically growls at him.
"The only thing that they want is this," he insists, shaking his hand. "Once we can't fight anymore, once we're covered in these veins, they take us, and then we never come back."
"What do you mean?" Galo wonders, surprised. "You... Burnish retire soon, everyone knows that. Because of the severity of the fights, and..."
Lio interrupts him again, shaking his head. "Retiring, sure. They use our blood, what we become. I don't know what they do with this, but I know that once you go in there... you never come back."
Lio stops then, and looks him in the eye. His eyes shining almost as much as the veins in his hand. "Do you still think what we're doing is just? Do you still think it's worth it?"
Galo doesn't know what to answer, and so he stays silent. Lio nods and then storms off, never once looking back in Galo's direction.
It's... well. It's not like he doesn't deserve it.
Lio's friends linger for a couple of seconds before they start walking as well. Galo stops them the moment they get within his reach.
"Is Lio...?" he doesn't know how to finish his phrase. All he can see are the veins covering his wrist, the wrist he has touched countless times in his training. What exactly happens the moment those veins completely engulfs a Burnish? What will happen to Lio?
One of the two, the one that seemed more lenient towards Galo, shakes his head. "Boss is the best of us. He's got complete control over his drift. His veins haven't grown ever since his first drift. But..." he stops, looks at his own foot, "but he can't do it alone."
"Meis!" the other one screams, but Meis just shrugs.
"I don't want to see Boss lose himself, Gueira," Meis says, closing his eyes. "If the Mad Burnish won't consume him, the pressure will. He thinks he's responsible for all of us, and he takes it hard. We tried to help but..."
Meis stops talking, and Gueira hesitates a second before huffing and then hooking a finger into the collar of his sweater. He drags it down, and Galo can see the shine before he can see the veins. "We're not sure how much longer we can hide this from them," he explains, "Burnish who can't pilot don't usually survive long before being escorted there."
Galo doesn't move. Doesn't know what to say.
"You're drift compatible with the Boss, you know," Meirs says, out of the blue, and Galo sputters.
"What? No, I'm not!" he denies, immediately.
Gueira arches an eyebrow in his direction, skeptical. "We've seen the two of you train, and we can assure you. You're drift compatible. So we're telling you that if you fuck Boss over in any way, we'll find you and kick your ass!"
"I'm... I don't..." he tries to say, but Meirs interrupts him.
"And that if you don't help him, you won't be worthy of being drift compatible with him."
They walk away after that, leavnìing Galo in the middle of the corridor, unable to say anything else.
-
Galo thinks about it. He thinks about it as much as he can. During breakfast, at night, while they train.
He can't really wrap his head around everything. It seems too surreal to be real, and he wants to ask the others on his squad, but he doesn't know who he can trust.
Galo doesn't suspect his team, but there's no way to talk privately to someone inside a dome.
So he thinks about it on his own, and thinks about it more. And in the end he just screams in frustration.
Aina looks at him, startled. "Galo? What's gotten into you?" she asks, surprised and a little scared, but Galo can't really tell her. Can he?
"I just don't understand. I'm not good at thinking," he admits, even though it costs him something. Lio needs him to think, to make sense of everything the other told him, and yet he can't.
He really is unworthy, ah?
Aina stays silent for a second before smiling. "Yeah, you're, but that's not always a bad quality. You might not always understand everything perfectly, but you act. And you always follow your heart. And that's the most important thing.
Galo wonders if it could really be this easy but... well, what else can he do?
"You're a genius, Aina," he says, smiling and hugging. He doesn't have to think so hard. That's not how he is.
He follows his heart that burns with the passion of justice, and he doesn't need anything else.
"I need to find Lio," he says, taking his rescue jacket and running out of the room before he can hear Aina's strangled "Lio?"
-
It doesn't take him as much as he feared to find Lio. Which is a blessing because now that he has made up his mind, he can't wait to actually tell him.
Surprisingly enough, he finds Lio in the gym. He's training, just like Galo found him the first night, but his movement seems to be slowed. He doesn't look as elegant as that first night, almost as if there was something weighing him down.
This, Galo thinks, it's exactly the reason why he's here.
"I have decided," Galo announces, "that I don't understand a single thing you said to me the other night.". Lio stops, and turns towards him, surprised.
"Is that a thing someone has to decide?" Lio wonders, curious.
Galo simply shrugs. "I've also decided that I don't care if I don't understand. Because you're obviously hurting and it's one thing to have people decide to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but if they're not choosing it... then it's wrong and we need to stop it."
Lio puts his staff down and studies him for a couple of seconds. He seems confused but also amused. "It's really that easy for you, isn't it? You see something you don't like, so you just change it."
Galo nods, proud of himself. "If we don't do nothing, then nothing will ever change. Also you can say what you like, but I know you're just like me. You're trying to protect everyone, save them. So I've decided I'll help you. I'll be your co-pilot."
Lio, as Galo expected, freezes. "I... I'm a Burnish. I don't have a copilot."
"But we're drift compatible, are we not?" he asks, knowing full well the answer to the question. Meris and Gueira had no reason to lie, but more than that, Galo can feel it in his blood. In his bones. It's why they were always that good at reading each other. Why their sparring matches worked.
Lio doesn't deny it, but he still hesitates. "They won't let you. A Burnish with a copilot will only worsen their reputation and make it harder to use us."
"We won't know until we try," Galo assures Lio, smiling. "And you have on your team the future best Jaeger pilot of this generation. Aren't you excited."
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Lio asks, a little surprised.
Galo shrugs. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"
Lio murmurs something that sounds like Why am I even surprised, and then advances towards Galo.
"You realize this will be difficult. And that if we're discovered this could lead to some terrible circumstances."
Galo shrugs and smiles. "You and are partners, are we not? If you’re doing something dangerous, then so am I. And if we get discovered, then we’ll face those terrible circumstances together.."
Lio laughs then, shaking his head. He gets closer and closer, until they're almost face to face. "You're a really strange guy, you know."
Galo simply shrugs. “I've been told it's one of my best qualities."
Lio doesn't say anything, but the moment Galo feels the kiss on his lips, he thinks he got the answer he wanted.
Galo doesn't know what the plan is, how to stop the organization that, for all its faults, is responsible for keeping the rest of humanity safe. But while he keeps Lio in his arms and keeps kissing him... he thinks they’re going to figure it out.
